Thursday, January 21, 2010

A Guide to Moving Your Home

One of my favorite things about Pixar is rather then getting a single shot, you get assigned a sequence of shots. This allows you to think of the movie as a whole and where your little piece fits into the larger picture.


Early on in production I was assigned a moment that takes place right after Carl makes peace with his past and embracing the present by accepting Russell. Just as this happens, Russell leaves Carl and heads right into harms way.

I wanted to convey that no matter how big the obstacle of moving a house is, that Carl would still try with all his might. I set up the camera in the park and in the backyard, pushing and pulling on anything I could get my hands on. I wasnt necessarily looking for poses, but just what it feels like to try your hardest to move a impossible object. What does your face do? Your body? How could I animate Carl moving his house if I havent tried moving mine as well. I wanted to put myself in his shoes.

Just a side note: Thats a Pixar chair I was throwing around there at the end. Being a new employee, I was nervous security might bust the new guy destroying company property. If caught, my defense wouldve been 'it wasnt me, it was Carl throwing the chair!'

7 comments:

  1. Cool! That was an awesome moment in the movie. You conveyed it well because I remember liking that scene just for that purpose. I always find it powerful when people try at something they know they can't achieve in order to save someone, just because of the bond they have.

    That's pretty funny about the chair, especially how it ended up pretty much the same in the movie. I bet security sees a lot of strange things at Pixar, or any animation studio lot for that matter.

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  2. Its always great to see what went into making a shot or a sequence. I really like the idea of you trying to move an 'immovable' object. Please share some more behind the scene stuff if you can.

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  3. Hey! my kid was laughing at this moment most of all! That's how it was created))i should show her that video too)))

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  4. Wow, wasn't expecting another 'Up'date so soon! ;)

    This is fantastic seeing the initial reference vids and how those were translated into the final shots.

    I look forward to your next post.

    Cheers


    Jon

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  5. Awesome and inspiring as always mr Hartline!!! Keep it up, I just can't get enough of this stuff :-)

    HONK -

    Lluís

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  6. hey Aaron, I learned that you could upsize the blogger videos to any thing you want by going into edit html tab when you post your entry. I tend to make mine in 420 width. thanks for sharing!

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  7. Great job Aaron, it's a great shot!
    keep it up

    Matteo

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